The Haqqani Family’s Secret Communications with the Americans

According to a New York Times report, the Haqqani family, led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, has a long and sometimes secret history of seeking connections with the United States. Throughout various stages of the American-led war in Afghanistan, the Haqqani family sought ways to get closer to the United States. However, American officials often rejected them, considering the widespread killings committed by the Haqqanis during the war made revealing these relationships pointless and unnecessary.

Some diplomats now say that the Haqqani’s efforts to start a dialogue were missed opportunities that show how America’s war on terror created the same enemies it intended to destroy, which explains why the U.S. war in Afghanistan lasted 20 years.

During the war against the Soviet Union, Jalaluddin Haqqani cultivated supporters among Pakistani and Saudi intelligence agencies. He had close relations with the CIA, which provided him with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and weapons. During this period, the Haqqani family also became close to Osama bin Laden, who later founded al-Qaeda with Haqqani’s support.

The United States has so far largely rejected efforts by Taliban officials to establish formal relations with its government, drawing a red line on the issue of women’s rights. But the U.S. still has broad influence over Afghanistan and the Taliban: it is the largest foreign donor to Afghanistan, its sanctions determine the flow of money and vital humanitarian aid, and billions of dollars in frozen assets of the Afghan central bank are virtually under American control.

Although Mr. Haqqani’s influence over restrictions on women is limited, he has tried in behind-the-scenes talks with Western diplomats to focus on an issue he can really influence: global terrorism.

Even during the war, the Haqqani family showed more willingness to engage with the United States than previously thought. According to former officials and informed sources, the family has been seeking to reduce tensions in secret negotiations with American representatives for years.

At the height of the war in 2010, Haqqani was still secretly looking for ways to reconcile. According to two sources familiar with these contacts, they informally wrote to American officials and suggested ways to reduce hostilities, and through other channels, they asked to meet with the Americans.

A year later, Haqqani’s uncle, Mr. Omari, along with the head of Pakistan’s intelligence agency—Haqqani’s main supporter who played a role in preparing these talks—met with American officials at the Raffles Hotel in Dubai.

Then in 2015, for the first time in decades, the Haqqanis sat down at the negotiating table with American officials without intermediaries and discussed finding a way to end the war, according to three sources familiar with that meeting.

In a private room in a luxury European hotel, Mr. Omari told American officials that his family had sent him to deliver a message: both the Haqqanis and the United States want peace in Afghanistan. He reminded that the United States had overthrown the Taliban regime, killed bin Laden, and created the democratic republic of Afghanistan. So why, he asked, is America still at war?

In response, Laurel Miller, acting special representative of the U.S. State Department for Afghanistan and Pakistan, acknowledged that when wars go on for a long time, their initial logic is often forgotten and they become a self-reinforcing phenomenon.

In our conversation, Mr. Haqqani evaded his family’s past interactions with the West—a history that could complicate his relations with other Taliban factions. As some former officials point out, this previous secret history gives more credibility to his recent proposals. Rather than a surprising change in Mr. Haqqani’s personality, his efforts to connect, according to some, are a continuation of what his family has long sought: a strategic partnership.